JOHANNESBURG A book that details Zimbabwes pre and post independence political violence will be launched in neighbouring South Africa today.
Entitled, When a State Turns Against Its Citizens; Institutionalized Violence and Political Culture, the book, written by well-known Zimbabwean-born author and academic, Lloyd Sachikonye, traces the roots of Zimbabwe’s contemporary violence to the actions of the Rhodesian armed forces, and the inter-party conflicts that occurred during the liberation war.
However, much of the authors focus is the period since 2000, which has seen state-sponsored violence erupting in election campaigns and throughout the programme of fast-track land reform.
At a broader social level, it is responsible – both directly and indirectly – for millions of Zimbabweans voting with their feet and heading for the Diaspora, a migration that Sachikonye says, Cannot simply be explained in terms of the search for greener economic pastures, as escape from authoritarianism, violence, trauma and fear is a large factor behind the exodus. The writer concludes that any future quest for justice and reconciliation will depend on the country facing up to the truth about the violence and hatred that have infected its past and present.
The book will be launched in Cape Town today and at Johannesburgs Constitution Hill tomorrow evening, with the guest of honour being Judge Azhar Cachalia, post 1994 Secretary for Safety and Security, who has also been monitoring human rights cases in Zimbabwe for the International Commission of Jurists.
Sachikonye was born in Zimbabwe in 1954 and did his early education there and after attending Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria for Master of Science in Political Science, he acquired a Ph.D. from Leeds University in the UK. He is now Associated Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe, where he has worked as a researcher and lecturer since 1983.
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